Isaac Brock's BSS Cameo

Sound Academy

Toronto, ON

on Nov 27 2008

John Papamarko (CHARTattack)

11/28/2008 4:29pm

It's a bit strange to write a review of a show by a band who haven't released a proper album since 2005. It's even more strange for that group to sell out two nights at the cavernous Sound Academy, but Broken Social Scene aren't your average band. With almost 20 members rotating in and out based on availability, they operate more like an extended family — a theme that recurred throughout Thursday evening's show.

It felt like anyone who has ever met a member of BSS was on the guest list, which caused a pretty massive log jam at the front doors, and I missed most of Land Of Talk's opening set. It seemed like the cosmos didn't want me to see the Montreal-based indie rock trio, who had to cancel their last Toronto date because frontwoman Elizabeth Powell lost her voice. I at least got to see the jangly toe-tapper "All My Friends," one of their best, and the song Powell dedicated to her Nana.

By the time Broken Social Scene took the stage to the theme from Top Gun, the door issues had been resolved and the venue was ready to burst. That came with excitement and a crush of bodies that couldn't have been comfortable for too many.

Amy Millan, Emily Haines and Feist were sadly missing and, with it being a hometown show, the buzz around the venue was that at least one of them would be there. In their absence, Powell admirably filled in all of the female vocal bits and even some guitar parts. Powell looks to be firm as the newest estro-addition to the BSS family.

Both Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew's "solo" efforts got their own two-song mini-sets, and the show began to drag during the songs from Drew's Spirit If.... I don't know if it's my general indifference for that album or the poor sound that really muddled the subtlety of Drew's vocals, but it felt like the show was derailing.

Thankfully, a special guest brought the show back on track. Isaac Brock, who Drew said "flew in just for this show," joined the band to play a couple of Modest Mouse tunes. A few of the hundreds of balloons waiting in the rafters for the encore shook free and were smacked around like beach balls by a bewildered crowd as the whole venue sang the refrain of "The Good Times Are Killing Me." The real treat during all of this was to watch the pure enjoyment on the faces of the band members as they performed.

It's refreshing to see a band play a show for fun. There's no agenda to push a new record and no expectation to earn new fans or sell T-shirts. Last night was about playing some songs for your friends, family members and hometown fans without regard for the "business" of playing music. This show was refreshingly devoid of all those things that so often get in the way.